Thyreocephalus basilewskyi Tottenham, 1956

Janák, Jiří & Bordoni, Arnaldo, 2015, Revision of the genus Thyreocephalus and description of Afrus gen. nov. of Africa south of the Sahara (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae), Zootaxa 4038 (1), pp. 1-94 : 60-64

Thyreocephalus basilewskyi Tottenham, 1956

( Figs. 141 , 153–157 )

Thyreocephalus basilewskyi Tottenham, 1956: 258 ; Herman, 2001: 3761.

Type locality. Rwanda, Tshuruyaga, Rugege Forest.

Type material examined. Holotype ♀: RWANDA: “ Ruanda / Tshuruyaga, forêt de Rugege, 2400 m, P. Basilewsky 22.I.1953 ”, “ Thyreocephalus , basilewskyi n. sp., Tott., Type ” ( MRAC).

Additional material examined. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 2 spec.: Zaire, Umg. Lwiro, Wabo Banyw'ne, iii.1985 ( SMNS, ABFI). GUINEA: 1 ♂: “ Guinea, Fcuta Djallon, Dalaba, 1200 m, 23.iv.51, Exped. Mus. G. Frey Franz. Guinea 1951 W. Afr., Bechyne”, “ Thyreocephalus densepunctatus nov. spec.”, “COTYPUS Thyreocephalus densepunctatus O. Scheerpeltz ” ( NHMW). REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 1 ♂: Soil Zoological Exp. Congo-Brazzaville, Bouenza cataract, 30.xi.1963, Endrődy-Younga ( JJRC). RWANDA: 4 spec.: Cyangugu, Nyakabuyo, 1–3.iv.1983, H. Mühle ( MFNB, ABFI, JJRC); 1 spec.: Cyangugu, Nyakabuyo, 27.ix.1984, H. Mühle ( MFNB); 1 spec.: Cyangugu, Nyakabuyo, 16.x.1984, H. Mühle, ( ABFI); 3 spec.: Nyakabuyo, 15– 24.iv.1984, H. Mühle ( MFNB, ABFI); 1 spec.: Nyakabuyo, 3.ii.1985, H. Mühle ( MFNB); 2 spec.: Nyakabuyo, 5– 8.x.1985, H. Mühle ( MFNB, JJRC); 1 spec.: Nyakabuyo, 3.X.1985, H. Mühle, 1 ex. ( MFNB); 1 spec.: Nyakabuyo, 4.i.1986, H. Mühle ( JJRC); 1 ♂: “ Ruanda, Hembe-Bitale, “ Thyreocephalus densepunctatu s nov. spec. ”, “ TYPUS Thyreocephalus densepunctatus O. Scheerpeltz ” ( NHMW).

Redescription. Body length 16.5–19 mm; length from anterior margin of head to posterior margin of elytra: 9.5–12 mm. Black with bluish elytra and dark brown abdomen. Body shiny. Pronotum with micro-punctation. Head and pronotum and related punctation as in Fig. 153 ; labrum as in Fig. 154 . Punctation of head large, elongate, punctures very close, rugose, sometimes confluent. Elytra slightly longer and wider than pronotum, scarcely dilated posteriad, with well marked humeral angles. Surface with wide and superficial punctation, arranged in one series near suture, one median and one lateral, composed by few punctures. Abdomen with very fine and dense, transverse micro-striation and fine and very sparse punctation.

Male. Tergite 10 and sternite 9 of male genital segment as in Figs. 155, 156 . Aedeagus ( Fig. 157 ) large, 2.88 mm long, with slightly elongate median lobe; parameres symmetrical; inner sac ribbon-like, wide, folded on itself, covered with sparse little scales.

Female. Head less dilated than in male.

Differential diagnosis. Thyreocephalus basilewskyi differs from the similar T. interocularis in the disc of the head densely and coarsely punctured and the paramere of the aedeagus relatively shorter.

Distribution. The species is distributed in Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Republic of Congo and Rwanda ( Fig. 141 ).

Remarks. The single male from Guinea has slightly different shape of aedeagus.

Figures

FIGURE 141. Distribution of species in Thyreocephalus coeruleipennis group (● = T. basilewskyi Tottenham, ▲ = T. subcorticalis sp. nov.).

FIGURES 153 – 157. Thyreocephalus basilewskyi Cameron; 153, head and pronotum; 154, labrum; 155, male tergite 10; 156, male sternite 9; 157, aedeagus.